Pierre Rolland took Europcar's first victory of the 2012 season, winning the third stage of the Etoile de Besseges, and additionally took over the general classification lead. He dashed across the finish line in Besseges ahead of his breakaway companion Franck Vermeulen (Véranda Rideau-Super U) while Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-Big Mat) led the peloton across the line seven seconds later for third place.

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The lead duo had been in a group which formed two-thirds of the way into the stage, and just managed to hold off the peloton at the finish in Bessèges.

Overnight leader Marcel Kittel (Project 1t4i) lost contact with the peloton early on and finished the stage more than 23 minutes behind Rolland.

The winter cold remained but it was dry as the race went into the mountains, climbing the category one Col de Treylis three times over the day's 152.6km route. Only 20km into the stage, after hitting the climb for the first time, a group of 13 riders broke away. The chasing field soon split, with race leader and sprinter Marcel Kittel of Team 1t4i in the third and final group. The lead group was caught again, but Kittel's group never made contact again.

The peloton chased doggedly, and the leaders' gap dropped dramatically in the final 30 km. Their advantage was only 45 seconds as they headed off on the first of three laps of the closing 6.8km closing circuit course.

The lead group fell apart on the final lap, and Rolland and Vermeulen charged under the flamme rouge with a 15-second lead, holding off their chasers long enough for Rolland to take the win.